Account-tray.



W. H. HANNA.

ACCOUNT TRAY.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. s. I9I6.

l ,2?299, Patented July 16, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

71 ,u ZL,

. l I6. l 1 ,272,699. Patented July 16, 191s.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Fig.

miran sra'ras ramer orma WALTER H. HANNA, OF BENTON HARBOR, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, TO BAKER-VAWTER COMPANY, OF BENTON HARBOR, MICHIGAN, ,A CORPO- RATION OF MICHIGAN.

ACCOUNT-TRAY.

T0 all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER H. HANNA, a citizen of the United States, residing at Benton Harbor, in the county of Berrien and State of Michigan, have linvented certain new and useful Improvements in Account- Trays, of which-the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a posting or account tray or box which is designed to hold a variable number of sheets containing accounts, and is so designed as to be particularly useful in connection with adding and registering machines which are adapted to be used to post items on the sheets and mechanically add together the amounts of different items so entered. It has heretofore been a common practice to keep such account sheets in a loose leaf binder or similar account book, and when new items are to be entered, transfer in a block all the sheets to a posting box designed to facilitate handling, and when the posting and bookkeeping operations are completed replace them in Jthe binder. My present posting tray is intended to provide in one article a substitute for the binder and the posting tray, or rather it may be considered as itself constituting an account book of unusual capacity and adapted to permit the use of the sheets in the same manner as in a posting tray. With this and incidental objects and advantages in view, my invention consists in a structure of the character indicated, and having the construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described, the essential elements of the same being more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the, drawings Figure l is a side view of my improved posting box with the ledger sheets pressed lightly together in closed-up position and the cover of the box on ,Fig 2 is a vertical cross-section on the line 2-2 of Fig. l; Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the box without the cover with the leaves and movable parts in the same position as in Fig. l; 4 is a longitudinal vertical. section, on the line 4-4 of Fig. il, but with the movable parts and leaves opened out into working position; Fig. 5 shows the lower portion of a modified form of sheet., the right-hand side beingpartly broken away; and Fig. 6 is Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July i6, 1918.

Application mea Maren s, 1916. serial No. 82,297.

a detail showing the matter in which the front end of the spacing rod is secured in place.

The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in the different views.

The body 1 of my improved box is preferably constructed of sheet metal, and is provided with handles for convenient handling, and felt disk feet to rest upon. Adjacent the sides of the box inner walls 3-3 of slightly less height than such sides are arranged and rigidly secured in place by suitable means, asby the integral flanges 3a, 3a riveted to the body of the box. Extending across and sliding upon the top edges of the inner walls 3-3 is a follower bar 4, having a vertical depending portion 4a and equipped with a suitable gripping mechanism engaging such walls. Vhile the specific construction of the follower grip mechanism constitutes no part of my present invention, it may be here stated that in the device shown a pair of pivoted wedging members 5are engaged and arranged to be oscillated through a pair of spring-pressed links 6 which extend toward the center line of the box, and near their hinged by a hinge-plate 8a to the bottom of,

the box, this plate being adapted, when in the inclined position shown in Fig. 4, to serve as a rest for such leaves as have been thrown forwardly, and when in the vertical position shown in Figs. 1 and 8 to serve as a stop against which the ledger sheets may be compressed by the action of the follower and plate 7 uponthe opposite side of such sheets, the vertical portion 4 of the follower at this time tending to force the plate 7 into vertical position parallel to the plate 8. To hold the plate 8 inits two different positions I have provided the stop plate 9, strengthened by lie in the position shown in Fig. 1 (in which the Iianges 10 serve as brackets to support it), or in the position shown in Fig. 4, for the urpose stated.

T e :account sheets for which my improved posting box is designed are narrower than the space between the sides of thebox, to enable part of the sheets to be offset with respect to the remaining sheets. In the box illustrated the arrangement is Such that in the course of using the tray in the mannerin which it is designed to be used, part of the sheets are one by one offset from the main body of sheets arranged with their left-hand edges adjacent the left-hand wall 3 to a position in which their righthand edges lie adjacent the right-hand wall. In order to adapt all the sheets to be readily placed and positively retainedin either poc sition, the sheets are in the present instance slotted or notched at two places on their bottom edges and a spacing rod 12 provided to coperate with one or the other of these notches', the arrangement being such as to produce the relative displacement desired. Preferably this rod is made adjustable to different positions, so that a narrower leaf can be operated just as well as 'a wider leaf,

thus permitting one lbox i to accommodate various widths of leaves. To this end, the

rod .l2 is in the present instance mounted in one or the other of two pairs ofiront and rear holes in the vertical members of an angle-plate 13 secured on top of the hin plate 8a to the bottom of the box near t e front, :and an angle-plate 13a near the rear thereof, 4the front end of the rod being equipped with a knurled postv 14 having a screw-threaded lower end adapted to engage one lor the other of a corresponding` number of screw-sockets in the'l angle-plate 13 at the bottom of the box, see Fig. 6, also Fig. 3. It will be understood, however, that three or more notches may be provided at the bottom of the sheet, 'as in the modified form of sheet illustmted in Fig. 5, and the main body of sheets placed in an intermediate position, so thatv the sheets may be offset either to the right or left, if desired or necessary to the intended use of the sheets being employed; and also that other arran ements of rods and notches, as the use o two rods lwith one or more notches, or the provisionl of additional adjusting holes in the angle-plate 13, and additional notches in the account sheets are practicable to permit the sheets to be olfset'in any manner desired. l

A sheet of canvas 15, or other suitable material, lis secured to the bottom of the box, as by means of the angle-plate 13' and vhingeplate 87, in order to furnish a frictional surface for the account sheets to rest upon, and thus revent them from slipping and crowding orward at the bottom when they are spread open for work. It will be noted that the front plate 8 is only 4adjustable angularly, but therear plate -7 may not only be set to any desired angle but may be shifted forwardly and rearwardly, whereby the box is adapted to receive any number of sheets within its structural limits.

The cover 16 of the box is arranged to interlock with the body 1 through the engagement of a projection 17 on the rear wall of the latter with a corresponding recess in the cover, and the cover is equipped with a lock 18, the laterally spreading bolts of which cooperate with a keeper 19 secured to the front wall of the'body 1. It will be seen by reference to Fiets. 3 and 4 of the drawings that the central part of the plate 8 is cut out to avoid interference with this keeper.

It will be understood that when not in use the plates 7 and 8 are in vertical position and pressed as tightly together as practicable, in which position they lwill be retained by the grip of the follower mechanism, in order to keep the ledger sheets and index sheets flat and smooth. When posting is to be done the followeris adjusted rearwardly a proper distance to cause the sheets to incline at a convenient angle, and the plate. 9 elevated and the plate 8 tilted to forward position.

After. the posting and balancing of the accounts for one period has been completed, and before beginning the posting for a new period, all the leaves previously displaced will have been returned to the left-hand side of the box. Then, as the posting proceeds, the leaves upon which entries are to be made -are taken out and put in the posting machine (assuming that one is being used), and an entry made upon it and the sheet replaced in off-set position, the cut-out slots at the bottom of the leaves positively maintaining the sheets in position. However, it is obvious that if desired the rod can be removed and the box used without it in a similar manner, though without the advantage of positive retention of the sheets in their different positions.' The new entries are thus all found upon the sheets which are' displaced to right-hand position, in position foruse in making and checking up a balance, and this having been made the sheets are returned to right-hand position for a new posting.

1. A posting box of the character described and comprising thebox proper, a hinged front plate, means .for supporting said front plate is tilted and in vertical position, a detached rear plate, and an adjustable follower supporting said rear plate aty the bacll` of its upper portion whereby such rear plate may be set forwardly or rearwardly and tilted as desired.

2. A posting box of the character described and comprising the box proper, a hinged front plate, a hinged stop plate which in two opposite positions coperates with said front plate to hold it vertical in the one position and tilted in the other, and a rear plate which is adjustable from front to rear and angularly adjustable.

3. A posting box of the character described and comprising the box proper, a hinged front plate, a hinged stop plate which in two 'opposite positions coperates with said front plate to hold it vertical in the one position and tilted in the other, said stop plate being formed with. a depending bracket member, and a rear plate which is adjustable from front to rear and angularly adjustable.

4. A posting box of the character described and comprising the box proper, a hinged front, plate, a hinged stop plate which in two opposite posit1ons coperates with said front plate to hold it vertical in the one position and tilted in the other, said stop plate being arranged to contact the side of the box to limit its movement in one direction and being formed with a depending flange arranged to also contact the side of the box to limit its movement in the other direction, and a rear plate which is adjustable from front to rear and angularly adjustable.

5. A posting box of the character described and comprising the box proper, a hinged front plate, a hinged stop plate which in two opposite positions coperates with said front plate to hold it vertical in the one position and tilted in the other, said stop plate being formed with a beadV at its front edge and depending side flanges constituting bracket members, and a rear plate which is adjustable from front to rear and angularly adjustable.

6'. A posting box of the character de-V scribed and comprising the box proper, an angularly adjustable Zfront plate, a loose lrear plate, and an adjustable follower supporting said rear plate and having a broad extended vertical portion.

7. In a device of the character described and in combination with leaves formed with a pair o f open slots in their bottom edges, a box wlder than the cards, front and rear plates adapted to support saidcards in inclined positions, front and rear angleplates secured to the bottoml of the box and having similar sets of holes formed in their vertical members, a rod arranged to engage sets of holes formed in theirv vertical mem-V bers, a rod arranged to engage corresponding front and rear holes in said ytwo angleplates, and a sheet of fabric upon the bottom of the box between said angle-plate extending under the. horizontal members of such plates and held in place thereby.

9. n a box of thel character described and in combination with a set of sheets adapted to be held therein upon their edges,

a front plate arranged to be set to vertical position and also to tilted position, a rear plate, and a follower adapted to coperate with said rear plate to hold it in tilted position and having a vertical face adapted to force said plate into vertical position when said front plate is Vertical and said follower is moved to press said rear plate against the interposed sheets.

l0. Aiile box comprising a receptacle for the sheets to be led, a pair of tiltable back members arranged in said receptacle, said tiltable back members being so arranged that the filed sheets will be confined between them, a hinge securing the lower edge of one of said tiltable back members to said receptacle, the other tiltable back member-being adjustable to different positions to compensate for variations in the dimensions of the body of filed sheets, and an adjustable follower itted to the last mentioned back member. V

11. A file box comprising areceptacle for the sheets to be filed, a tiltable back member arranged to forman inclined supporting element for the filed sheets, a filler associated with said tiltable back member, and a pivot supporting said filler, said filler being adaptedto retain the tiltable back member 'in a substantially vertical position.

WALTER H. HANNA. 

